Children who reduce their consumption of sugar sweetened drinks by just one serving a week see improvements in their high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition has found.

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The US study used data from a multiethnic sample of 613 children aged 8 to 15 who were enrolled in a randomised double blind vitamin D supplementation trial. They self reported their intake of sugar sweetened beverages and had their fasting blood lipid concentrations measured at baseline.

Two thirds of the children were from low socioeconomic status households, almost half were overweight or obese, and 59% were from non-white or Caucasian ethnic groups. The researchers followed 380 of the children for 12 months.

Two thirds of obese patients with type 2 diabetes who had a gastric bypass did not need any diabetes drugs three years after their operation, a US study published in JAMA Surgery has shown. The research also found that a third of patients who had less invasive gastric banding showed remission of their diabetes.

Liraglutide significantly reduces body weight and improves metabolic control in people who are obese or overweight and have dyslipidaemia or hypertension, a randomised trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown.

Measuring a person’s waist with a piece of string is a better predictor of cardiovascular risk than using body mass index (BMI) alone, researchers have said.

A study published at the European Congress on Obesity in Prague this week supported the finding that a person was at lower cardiovascular risk if they kept their waist measurement to less than half their height measurement.

Whistleblowing legislation is to be overhauled and a government consultation held to investigate whether the Public Interest Disclosure Act (Pida) 1998 is failing to protect those who speak out from being victimised, harassed and even sacked by their employers.

“I would ask you to pay very serious heed to the warning from Mid Staffordshire that a culture which is legalistic and defensive in responding to reasonable challenges and concerns can all too easily permit the persistence of poor and unacceptable care.”

Audit on body mass index in pregnancyCitation: Obesity Reviews, May 2011, vol./is. 12/(199), 1467-7881 (May 2011)
Author(s): Aumeer R.Introduction and background: Obesity during pregnancy is a risk factor for many adverse outcomes such as stillbirth, macrosomia, and gestational diabetes, among others.Objective: To assess the quality of care and management of obese pregnant women at Dudley Hospital, United Kingdom.Design: A retrospective audit study.Setting: Dudley Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom.Standards and criteria: All pregnant women should have their body mass index (BMI) measured and recorded at their first prenatal visit. All pregnant women with BMI > 30 should have postprandial blood tests at 20 weeks and 26 weeks to screen for diabetes. All pregnant women should receive advice about sensible diet and exercise, which should be documented in their medical notes.Methods: Medical records for all patients with delivery dates between December 2008 and January 2009 were audited post delivery.Participants: Pregnant women (N = 91).Results: BMI is recorded for 98% of patients. Over a quarter of women with BMI > 30 did not have postprandial blood tests at 20 and 26 weeks.Conclusion: BMI is calculated and recorded for most patients, but uptake of postprandial blood tests is suboptimal in patients with BMI > 30.Recommendations: To add a section on obesity in the maternity notes.
Institution: (Aumeer) East Cheshire NHS Trust, Macclesfield, United Kingdom

Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN)Dietary recommendations for energyEnergy requirements for the UK were last considered in 1991 by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy. The Department of Health asked SACN to review these requirements because the evidence base had moved on substantially, and over the same period the levels of overweight and obesity in the UK had risen sharply. SACN have set the new requirements for a level of energy intake required to maintain a healthy body weight. They have provided new recommendations for average dietary energy requirements for infants, children, adolescents and adults.

Change4Life three year social marketing strategyThis document sets out a new three-year marketing strategy (2011?14) for the Change4Life programme. It is published as a companion to Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England and describes how the Change4Life social marketing programme will support the achievement of the new national obesity ambitions, as well as promoting other, broader, lifestyle changes.